Nostalgia ain't what it used to be

Who is That in the Car With You?

Date: 21 August, 2003

By: Chief

hat? Why nobody is in the car with me you dolt.

Well, starting in 2004 there will be somebody in the car with you, though you won't be able to see them. They will be recording your every move. And no, I am not on any mind expanding drug if that is what you are thinking.

According to a news article I read a few weeks ago starting with the 2004 cars the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will require electronic data recorders (EDR) or 'black boxes' in all new cars manufactured in the United States.

Now ain't that just Jim Dandy? Uncle Sam wants to tag along with me when I take a Sunday drive in the country. Like hell it is. I, for one, do not need a babysitter when I drive. Do you?

This whole thing started, according to the NTSB at least, because of a wreck that happened out in California. An 86 year old driver plowed into a bunch of pedestrians killing 10 and injuring a bunch more a couple of months ago. So on account of one idiot driver and a state licensing system which is obviously broken beyond repair I am now subject to having my every move monitored by a bunch of federal bureaucrats? I do not think so.

Yet, according to the NTSB, having a black box riding shotgun in the car at the time of the wreck would not have done any good to begin with. It would have prevented nothing. It damn well would not have prevented the wreck.

Being that it would not have done any good, then what is the use in having the God Damn thing installed in the first place?

According yet again to the NTSB, having a black box in the car might have allowed investigators to find out how the wreck happened and to design better cars in the future to reduce the possibility of greater injury in the future. Oh hogwash. The driver of that car which wiped the floor with a bunch of people screwed up — big time — and he should pay for it. Furthermore, the California motor vehicle abomination is guilty as hell of gross negligence. I am not saying that being 86 years old one should not be driving but there are some old folks who damn well shouldn't be. Just as there are young folks and middle aged folks who should not be driving. But California "issued" that duffer a license. Hence, they are just as much at fault as the driver was.

The NTSB also said that unless all vehicles are so equipped, the federales will not have a true picture of what is happening on the highways. A true picture of what is happening ... eh. Well to me that means that the federales want to be nosy and then control what we do. This is just another example of using a 'tragedy', if you will, to enhance their control over us. Their power over us citizens.

But what about your and my privacy? Well, we are not talking about privacy, my friend, we are talking about public safety. My God man, what is wrong with you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have heard that argument before and no matter how many times I hear it, it still does not wash. Not in the least. Privacy first, screw the goober-ment's wants, desires and wish list.

Another thing which comes to mind about these wonderful new privacy invading devices is the fact that you own the car, yes, but do you own the data that is being recorded? As far as I know nobody has been able to successfully answer that question in the affirmative. And even if you do own the data how do you, presuming you would want to, destroy the data? Additionally, just exactly what data is being recorded to begin with? I don't have any idea. Or, how do I disconnect the infernal thing? Again, no clue. This whole concept strikes me as being continually searched without probable cause, let alone without a warrant.

Then there is another minor problem. Do car dealerships tell a customer that the new 2004 car or truck Joe Citizen is thinking about purchasing will record data about who knows what? I know that California requires dealerships to do just that. I do not believe any other state or commonwealth makes the same or similar requirement.

Ha. I knew I was missing something and now I have it. Could this data that is being recorded, whatever it may or may not contain, be used against you or me in either a civil or criminal proceeding? Can you imagine being served with a court order, a subpoena duces tecum, ordering you to turn over your black box's data that you don't even know you have, not to mention not having a clue as to what it contains. Talk about trial by ambush. It is disgusting.

The safety Nazi's have had their way for far too long. Taking our rights and publicly burning them just like Nazis in Germany during the 1930's — all in the name of safety.

I ask you have all the laws and regulations regarding safety made us safer? Are drunk drivers a thing of the past? Have motor vehicle wrecks been relegated to the history books? Are drivers no longer speeding or running red lights or no longer breaking any of the other plethora of safety laws? No. In fact hell no.

I can tell you this much, I shall not purchase a 2004 or later model year car or truck. Period.